Rural mail box



June 16, 1925.

' 1,542,217 J. E. COLE RURAL MAIL BOX Filed March 13, 1 4 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 fA/Lwmn Juan/1.5.0015

pfjmfg June 16, 19254 J. E. COLE RURAL MAIL BOX Filed March 13, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 16, 19 25.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH ELWELL COLE, F DACRE, ONTARIO, CANADA.

RURAL MAIL BOX;

1 Application filed March 13, 1924. Serial No. 699,076.

To all whom it may conc emu Be it known that I, JosnPH .ELwnLL com,

a Citizen of the United States of America,-

and resident of Sunset Mine, town of .Dacre,

in the Province of Ontario and Dominion of canadayhave invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rural 'Mail Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

This'invention relates to improvementsin rural mail boxes, and the objects of the in vention are toprovide a simply constructed, effective andwaterproof mail box adapted for rural delivery mail, and in the construe tion of whichthe number of parts'are reduced to aminimum and designed to perform more satisfactorily the various func-' tions required of them. V 1

Further objects are thetprovision' of a rural'mail box that is particularly adapted to give long and satisfactory service at a mlnimum of cost.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists essentially in the improved rural mail box anembodiment of which is hereinafter described in' detail and illustrated by the accompanying drawings. v

Referring to the drawings, in which l ke characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each figure:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of anembodiment of the improved mailbox.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section.

Figure 3 is a vertical section. Figure 1 is an enlarged vertical section showing the inner casing adapted to house the operating means.

Figure 5 is a perspective detail of the compound operating lever.

Figure 6 is a perspective detail of the signalling device.

Figure 7 is a section on line 7-7 of Figure 2.

In the drawings, A designates the improved rural mailbox as a whole comprising a mail box member or casing 10 designed to contain the mail matter and adapted to be supported at a convenient height'from the ground by any suitable supporting means, here shown in the form of a single supporting standard 11 on which the casing 10 is adjustably secured. The casing 10 is preferably rectangular both in cross section and longitudinal section and is constructed of any suitable material with a view to ensuring a long life and rendering satisfactory open forward end 12 is pivotally mounted a compound lever member 1 1, the ends of the bar 13 being fixedly secured in suitable supporting means 15. This lever member is formed, as illustrated in Figure 5, of a rectangular portion the sides of which, 17 and 18, are designed to register with the ends and bottom of the sides 19 and 20 to permit upward and downward movement of the lever. 22 is the outer cross bar connecting the sides 17 and 18 of the lever member, the other end of said sides being pivotally connected to the bar 13 and extended upwardly in slantwise direction to form the sides 23 and 24, in turn connected through arms 25 and 26 to a bar 27 carrying rollersadaptedto open the door 28 of the box swingingly mounted therein at 29 whereby, on the lever member being operated, the door 28 is swung outwardly and inwardly to open and close the open end. This compound lever member 14 is provided with a suitable housing 30 open at the top and consisting of the sides 31 and 32 and the bottom member 33 spaced from the outer wall of the casing. For retaining the lever and as shown in dotted lines in Figure 2, I

provide a catch member 34 pivotally mounted at on the front of the supporting block beneath the front of the box and provided with an engaging head 86 adapted to engage with the cross bar 22 when pulled downwardly and to retain it in that position, and whereby, on the cross .barbeing released, the lever member automatically assumes its original position permitting the door to close. From the foregoing, it will be seen that as the lever member 14 is pressed downwardly by means of the cross bar 22, the upper portion will be automatically moved outwardly carrying with it the swinging door 28, and that on the pressure being released the lever member will automatically assume its original position permitting the door 28 to close, the normal position of the door 28 being the closed one.

Signalling means are associated with the box and, as here shown, constitute a longitudinal rod 37 suitably journalled in the roof of the casing and provided at its rearmost end with a semaphore or other suitable signalling device 38, the semaphore being adapted to be set in a plurality of different positions and to be securely held in these positions against the action of th wind by means of a recessed section 39 adjacent the operating handle 40 adapted to engage with the forward end of the box above the door. This portion 39 is designed to engage with a square portion in the cross member or lintel 41 of the roof to lock the signalling member 38 when set. In this way the signal may be locked or set in laterally extending or upwardly extending position, the changes in position being arranged to indicate certain routine in connection with the clearing and delivering of mail.

In operation the rod 37 has sufi icient freedom of movement to enable the square portion to be raised from engagement with the cross member ll.

A further improvement in my letter box consists in mounting the name of the owner on the box in a waterproof frame 42 on the outside of the box. This frame is designed to slidably receive therein a casing of waterproof and transparent material 4-3 in which may be mounted a card with the owners name printed thereon. The transparent material may be glass or any other suitable waterproof medium.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the number of parts in my improved rural mail box is practically negligible, that thereis nothing whatever complicated in connection with them, and, therefore, that they are not liable to get out of order; further, that from their simplicity and durability they practically constitute a guarantee that the box, when once installed, will be good to render efiicient and satisfactory service for many years.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of my invention, within the scope of the claims, constructed without departing from the spirit or scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specifi cation and drawings shall be interpreted as illustrativeand not in a limiting sense.

\Vhat I claim as my invention is:

1. A rural mail box comprising, in combination, a suitable support, a casing on the support having an open end, a door swingingly mounted in the open end, a compound lever pivotally mounted adjacent the door and designed to extend beyond the front end of the casing, the other end of said lever being adapted to slidably contact with the door whereby, on the front end of the lever being pressed downwardly, the door is opened, and whereby, on the front end of the lever being released, the door is automatically closed, guide means for the lever, and means outside the casing for retaining the lever in downwardly operated position to hold the door open.

2. In a mail box of the character described the combination with a casing having an open end provided with a swiilgingly mounted door, and a closed end, of a double lever formed with a flat portion and a curved portion and means intermediate of said portion for pivotally mounting the lever in the casing whereby the fiat end of the lever is operable from the outside of the casing and the curved end of the lever is adapted to engage with said door, means in the sides of the casing to permit the upward and downward movement of the lever to open and shut the door, and a pivotally mounted catch for retaining the lever in door-opening position,

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

JOSEPH ELW ELL COLE. 

